


If We Were A Movie

by klancedcoffee



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Best Friends, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Co-workers, College Student Lance (Voltron), Domestic Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Homesick Lance (Voltron), M/M, POV Third Person Omniscient, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Burn, broke college student Lance, gay allura because yes, im really nervous about it, they pin for eachother so bad, they work together in a coffee shop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-07 16:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14085399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klancedcoffee/pseuds/klancedcoffee
Summary: Lance and Keith had been working in the same coffee shop for three years now, and even if they might not say it out loud often, they are pretty good friends. Good enough friends for Lance to end up asking Keith to be his fake boyfriend at an important reunion, and good enough for Keith to end up agreeing to it. But maybe they don't know eachother enough to see how badly they start falling. Or maybe they are just oblivious dorks.





	1. Buzzing News

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is going to be a long ride, oh my god. It's my first fic I'm posting in english, which is a huge deal to me and I hope is good enough for people to like it. Yes, it is based of on the Hannah Montana song and I have no regrets. And a lot of cheesy cliché rom-coms, but to be honest? Those are the best.

**W** ednesdays were the worst days, he decided.

He scratched all the other days from his mental list for different reasons. Because none of them could compare at how on Wednesdays everything was a mess. One of the machines would always magically break on that day, and people seemed less nice than usual. It was a tiring day for everybody. He was happy it was Thursday already.

For example: even though on Mondays the café became the most visited place in the area, by people of all ages, they weren’t that bad. The good thing about Mondays was that the tips are frequent and often a little less stingy than usual. Tuesday was almost as equally busy, but mostly from college students complaining about their studies, and being really loud about them. That was one of the main things that lead Keith to wonder why he was working there to begin with and not in a quieter place. 

Between the lull of customers, Keith let his mind wander back to when he first took the job and how everyone that knew him had given him a strange look. All of them knew that working in a coffee shop went against everything the dark haired boy could stand. When he lazily explained to them about how well the cafe paid and how close to his apartment it was, they understood.

“But you hate the beach,” said his older brother once, with a confused frown. 

Letting a little bit exasperated sigh leave his mouth, Keith only nodded at that. After all, that was the truth and he couldn’t argue with him on that, even though he wanted to. Everything he explained to them was enough, and he didn’t have the chance to be picky with a job when he was so desperate to get one back then. And anyways, neither his brother nor friends needed to know that a tiny, small reason to not hate the job that much was looking at the surfers every morning. That was just a little bonus that made mornings easier for him to handle.  He had to find a good side of working just across the street from the ocean.

But he couldn’t keep it a secret for long. One of those very first mornings that Pidge, his best friend, passed by to say hi —and maybe get some free coffee—, they noticed. Apparently, Keith wasn’t as sneaky as he thought he was while stealing some quick glances at the window to check a really, really far away tanned-looking guy. He couldn’t see his face, partly because of the distance and partly because he always gave him his back, or entered the ocean and left quickly. Pidge contemplated the idea of not telling him, to let their friend think they didn’t know anything. But when he accidentally spilled the cup of coffee all over the counter they were sitting on, they couldn’t help it.

“Oh, I get it now,” they said with an evil grin, catching his friend’s attention.

“Huh?”

“So… what’s his name?” Pidge asked, while passing him a few napkins they had near.

Keith grabbed them and started cleaning what his lack of attention had caused, praying for the manager not to enter the store, and thanking the universe that the cup didn’t break.

“Who’s name?”

“That tanned surfer that caused, well, this,” they answered, pointing at what had just happened.

His dark eyes met theirs green ones, which sparkled with a roguish shine. He knew that look too well; he had many memories attached to it. Adventures that mostly didn’t have happy endings, but ones he never regretted. And he had the feeling that one of those would come again soon.

“I don’t know… what you are… talking about?” he tried.

And damn it, it wasn’t supposed to sound like a question. He thought perhaps he could lie to Pidge. Pretend that he didn’t know what they were trying to get at, or more precisely to whom. So he held the look a few seconds, until he gave up. He had a lot of stuff to do in the shop to be focusing on that. Rolling his eyes, he whispered, “Don’t start.”

They grinned even bigger at that.

“Oh, little Keithy has a crush,” they sang.

“Please never call me that again.”

In that very moment a customer entered the shop, and he let out a sigh of relief, going to the cashier to get their order with his best _“i-don’t-hate-this-job-at-all”_ smile. Pidge told him that they wouldn’t let go of the subject that easily, but he pretended not to hear them, a small smile on his lips.

 

He had to go back to reality, the list of days pushed to a side, and the memories of that day in the coffee shop with his friend as well, because his co-worker wouldn’t stop poking the side of his stomach, uncaring that he had two cups completely full of coffee on the verge of spilling in his hands that he was on his way to deliver.

“Lance, stop it already,” he asked him, but still stopping next to him to hear what he had to say.

“Blonde, approximately 5’8 feet tall, at your three o’clock,” said the brunette in a whisper while he was saving the money inside the casher.

“I have no idea of what you just said.” Keith deadpanned.

“At your right, Keith, the table number seven.”

It was then when he started looking through the crowd of people and tables and found him, the guy that fit that description. He was definitely on his twenties like them, he supposed, and was reading a book while highlighting some words from it. Keith couldn’t help but curse in really low tone, because that guy was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and that was one of his biggest turn-ons if he was being honest.

“Yeah, what about him?” 

“The first one that gets his number doesn’t have to close tonight!” Lance dared as quickly as possible, before rushing to the boy’s table, not having any more customers to attend.

It took him a few seconds to process what the blue eyed boy had said, and it wasn’t until he saw him get close to the blonde guy that he understood it. It was another of Lance’s regular bets and competitions, but he never backed off one. He took a quick glance at the sticky note that the cups of coffee he was holding to see to which table they corresponded, and noticed that the black Americano was, indeed, for the table number seven.

While he approached the table, he got to hear one of Lance’s pick up lines being said to him, to what the boy answered with a shy smile, said something that he didn’t got to hear, and looked down to his book again.

“Here is your coffee, please enjoy,” he smiled politely when he got to the table, placing it a bit far from the blonde’s book.

At the sound of his voice the guy looked up to find Keith’s captivating dark eyes, so dark that some people might see them as an obscure purple. The smile on Keith’s lips was replaced with an apologetic grin on behalf of his co-worker’s attitude. Lance saw that and mocked him.

 

* * *

 

Lance stole the last look at a certain table while going back to the front side of the coffee shop, seeing that there were a few customers in line in a matter of seconds. He was still looking from time to time, taking the new orders. One of his best pick up lines didn’t work this time with that guy, based off the fact he never really received an answer from him.  And in this very exact moment, he was regretting doing that bet. He really didn’t want to close this time, because back at his apartment a new episode of the show he recently had started watching was waiting for him. He didn’t want to miss it, he couldn’t afford missing it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to watch it online later, due to the fact that he didn’t have WiFi anymore. 

He couldn’t afford it, living the college life wasn’t anything near to luxurious. To the point that he had accepted living without wireless internet to pay rent, and eating something else that wasn’t instant noodles every day. He couldn’t understand sometimes why when he was a teenager he was so eager to go to college. Of course it was all the adrenaline of starting a new phase of his life, leaving the nest, and all of that stuff they show in movies. The independence and living without the constant over watch from your parents was something exciting, but he really missed home. And his mom’s cooking.

He was so deeply grateful to share his apartment with his best friend Hunk, because he made him feel a lot more like home. Not only with his amazing meals, but his friendship also.

“Hey, Lance,” Keith called, passing by his side grabbing some new orders to deliver to their tables.

When he glanced at him, a tiny proud smirk was drawn on his lips, holding a napkin in between his fingers next to his face. In rushed handwriting, a number was there, a little hard to read thanks to the neon green highlighter. Lance sighed in defeat.

 

A few hours later, ten pm was arriving and the coffee shop was empty now. Their other co-worker Lucy, a middle aged nice and caring woman, had left already. Not without smashing her typical hot pink kisses on their cheeks, as usual. Lance had finished cleaning the machines already, and tried repairing one again. He made a mental note to ask Hunk for help later at night, ask him if he could pass by and check it out later due to his engineering skills.

Soft indie music was playing low through the speakers, while Keith and Lance were silently finishing their chores, cleaning some tables and mopping the floor.  A comfortable silence was settled between them, one they were pretty used to by now. It had been three years since the day Lance had started working there with him, and even though neither of them would say it out loud, they had bonded pretty closely.

Working six days a week, eight hours each make two people know each other really well, and there was no way they wouldn’t connect. Of course they had this constant and dumb rivalry at the beginning, which developed into some playful competitions. They also got the Fridays Movie Nights and Wine, when their  entire group of friends would catch up and have a relaxing time they all needed by the end of the week.

Despite their completely different personalities, they blended well with each other. Lance was everything Keith was not. An extrovert, loud, and easy to approach. People always felt that they connected with him after a few minutes getting to know him and they smiled easily, loosened up next to him. That was at least how Keith always saw it when they went out to bar or something like that. It didn’t bother him at all, Lance knew he wasn’t a big fan of making friends, Keith had this policy of “if someone is meant to enter your life, they will”, and that was it. In contrast, Lance tries. He never told anybody, but it was easy for people to notice. How in every place they go, Lance tries to get people to like him.

“ _Keith Kat_ , my buddy, my friend…” 

Keith knew a favor was coming.

“When will you leave the Keith Kat behind?”

“Never, it goes perfectly with your grumpy cat personality,” the boy laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

“Whatever, the answer is no.”

“Oh, come on!” Lance protested, getting closer to him. “Please…” begged, putting his hands together. “I need you to close this time, I really don’t want to miss this new episode tonight.”

Keith finished his table and turned around to look at him.

“So I got that stranger’s number… for nothing?” he wondered, crossing his arms over his chest, with his best “ _you gotta be kidding me”_ look.

“Kogane, really? I’d really like to have the number of a guy like that.”

“If you want it I can give it to you? I don’t feel like seeing someone right now” he shrugged, putting his hand in his back pocket of his black jean to look for that napkin.

But suddenly a warm hand was placed over his, and his eyes moved quickly to the ocean ones in front of them, eyebrows pulled together slightly, confused.

“It doesn’t work like that, Keith,” Lance said and smiled, softly and kind.

 

In three years they had learned a lot of different, little things about each other that went beyond their favorite candy, movie or conspiracy theory. Some small things like how Keith, sometimes, didn’t get a lot of certain social characteristics, or behaviors. Like the detail of the napkin, it was stuff like that he had sometimes a hard time to process. None of this made him less intelligent or anything like that, it was just one of his personality treats. Some people couldn’t understand it, and every time Lance remembered them, he felt this certain anger take over. But he shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. There weren’t  many types of people he couldn’t get along with, because he felt he didn’t have the right to judge anybody, but there was no way he could get along with people who hurt those he cared about.

Keith finally nodded, understanding what Lance had tried to tell him after holding his look some seconds, and moved his hand back to his hip. Breathing in slowly, he agreed.

“Okay, I’ll close tonight.”

“You are the best, man!”

He watched him sprint back to the kitchen, where they left their stuff on a daily basis, to pick them up.

 

 

The next morning, Lance left his apartment in a rush, not without thanking his wonderful best friend for the carry-on mug of coffee he had prepared for him next to a French toast. It might be one of the most normal things, but he could swear that Hunk’s French toasts was a delicacy sent from the above. His friend always smiled timidly at the compliments, a faint blush covering his cheeks. That was the last image he got of him while he exited the room.

He went downstairs, skipping some steps, juggling his backpack and breakfast, while biting some more of that toast at the same time. As always, the elevator was being repaired and unable to be used, which lead him to be even more late. Basically running by now, he got just in time to the bus stop to take his ride. His ride to college was actually an hour and half long, if you didn’t have a car. But anyways, he always tried to put a grateful smile on his face while traveling, nodding his head to the beat of the music in his ear buds.

College was incredibly difficult, on top of how much it cost and the long commute. But it was worth it. His dreams depended on it, and he wouldn’t let his dream of becoming an actor go to waste.

He had been sure of it since he was just a kid, even though it all started as a family joke kind of thing. There wasn’t a day in his childhood that his parents, or brothers and sister, or uncles didn’t call out his dramatic side. He had to remind himself how his dream began sometimes, what made it so worth it the long ride and difficulties. So going back in his memories, he chose that time he had faked a  pretty convincing low blood pressure episode for his mother to give him some of her famous chocolate cookies.

 

Everyone in the house knew that the quota of cookies that Mamá allowed was limited. One per day for each child, no more, no less.

She was firm when it came to the fact that everyone in the family had to have equal portions of everything, so nobody could complain of things being unfair. But that day, back to when he was six years old, that cookie had been more delicious than usual. He desperately needed another one. Then, he remembered how in the last family birthday his aunt Betty had suffered from an episode of low blood pressure, and everyone in the family had suggested giving her something sweet.

So that was how he entered the kitchen, where his mother was, stumbling a bit and a hand on his head, recreating that scene he remembered so well. 

“Mom…?” he said, captivating all her attention.

“What’s wrong, Lance?” she  had asked immediately.

She lowered herself in front of him, placing his hands on his tiny shoulders, her eyes examining his face looking for what was apparently wrong.

“I think… I’m not feeling well… I feel weak and a little dizzy,” he tried to explain.

As soon as she heard that, the brunette woman hurried her small child to the first chair she saw while she began thinking what might be that had him that way.

“I suppose you must have low pressure, hold on, you need something super sweet” she gave him a reassuring smile, and turned around, going straight to where Lance knew the jar of cookies was.

He smiled proudly at himself, content, but said smile didn’t last long. It was erased when he saw how her mother grabbed a small jar rather than the big one he hoped.

“Umh, má? What is that?” He couldn’t help but sound worried.

“Oh, it’s a syrup your abuela gifted me not that long ago, is way too sweet, so it’ll probably make you feel better.” She answered, going near him again.

She poured some of the thick liquid on the bottle cap, and it just took to smelling it for Lance to know that it would taste awful. Frowning, he jumped out of the chair, standing straight and getting away from his mother, dropping all acts.

“Don’t worry má, is okay, I’m seriously feeling better now.”

It was then when his mother let out a giggle, shaking her head slightly, while she put the syrup back on the table. She approached her son and wrapped her strong, big arms around him, squishing him while she kissed the top of his head.

“Ah, the smell of abuela’s syrup, it always works its magic.” She laughed, and her boy raised his eyes to find her warm brown ones. “You should work on your acting, mijo, there’s no doubt you have potential.”

He grumbled, since it didn’t work, and even though he wouldn’t admit it till much later, the idea was left running around his head. He could picture himself doing that, standing in front of an audience that applauded him. Or reading his lines inside his own dressing room, before going to the set. Those thoughts made his heart race back then, just like they did in the present. He felt this kind of electricity run in his veins, excitement building inside him. He felt it as a kind of necessity, something he _needed_ much more than another cookie. A need that, through the time, would become a dream.

 

His bus stop jostled him out of reminiscing, and he had to run to his first class of the day to make up for the time he lost earlier that morning. Panting, he collapsed in his regular seat. He had still five more free minutes before his professor would come, if she got in time. So he decided to take advantage of those minutes, and rested his head on the desk. He sighed, he felt way too tired and the day had just started. He could take a quick nap in three minutes; he had done that several times by now. 

Thirty seconds had approximately passed by, when his phone buzzed on the table. Growling, crossed his arms under his head again and ignored it. But another text arrived, and it went against all of him to ignore that one too.

 

_hunkie pumpkin (7:02): lance, pls dont forget it’s your turn to pick the movie tonight :)_

_hunkie pumpkin (7:03): Pidge says “not 27 dresses, again”_

 

He smiled at the screen, while he sent a thumb up emoji in reply, and then locked the screen. He didn’t even try on going back to sleep, because while he was reading the message, miraculously his teacher had arrived. So he decided to pay attention and keep his eyes open.

Working on finishing an essay all night last night hadn’t been good for him. His under eye bags were noticeable, no matter how much makeup or creams he tried to apply to them. Nothing really helped, but at least  it prevented him from looking like a zombie. But he thought that, after all, he was a college student. So it was expected for him to look like an actual zombie. 

That made him realize how bad he needed a break. And most of all, a good eight hours of sleep. If he could only cancel the movie night, he would have then.

It was their Friday tradition, where all of them would meet up in someone’s house or apartment that was changed every week, and catch up with their lives (as if the groupchat wasn’t enough). He couldn’t cancel, he never had, not even that time he got the flu and all of them were wearing masks covering their mouths and noses. He needed his friends much more than sleep, he needed to laugh and let every stressed out muscle of his body relax. The only ones that could make that happen had always been them.

During the lesson, his phone had started vibrating again. Not once, not even twice, it just wouldn’t stop doing it. To the point it started sliding through the table, near to falling off it. Panic filled his body, afraid of watching his screen break, Lance throw himself over the edge of the table to catch it. A side smile covered his lips, proud of his own reflects.

“Do you need any help, Mr. McClain?” he heard her calling.

He immediately confronted her annoyed gaze.

“No, no, I’m sorry, please continue.” He rushed to say with his best easy smile, but only got a frown from her as an answer while she turned her back to him. He used that moment to take a fast look at the notifications.

 

**“You were added to a new group chat”**

**(48 new messages from “High School Reunion!”)**

 

“What the…”

He blinked a few times, not believing what he was reading. It couldn’t be, somebody must have added him to the wrong chat.  It had only been five years since he finished high school —thank God—, it hasn’t been that long for someone to want a reunion. But when he decided to start reading the texts, and began recognizing some of their names that once were his classmates, he faced the cold, harsh truth. He would have to attend, and prove them what he had promised years back.

 

_If he could only pull a boyfriend out of his pocket, and a role in a play that easy._

 


	2. We'd Make A Good Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, it starts, kind of.

**T** he laughter filled the room, just like the warmth radiating from their bodies. Shiro's living room wasn't what someone would call "big,”  since he felt like he didn't need a larger space. All six of them fit perfectly in it, sitting on the beige carpet that covered the floor. The pizza boxes also filled the space, Allura noticed, so she took a few seconds to pile them up before answering the question they had asked her.

"Wait, wait, let me think," she laughed lightly, the glass of rose wine in her hand already taking effect on her "I think it was the time I sang on a pool table to one of Britney Spears’ songs." 

There was a short silence after she finished her sentence, and then all of them bursted into laughter a little louder than before. Tears started building up on Hunk's eyes while he pictured that scenario.

"Why.... why would you do that?" he asked, unable to talk properly since he couldn't stop laughing still.

"You guys asked me what was the craziest thing I did drunk, and that's the answer," she shrugged.

Pidge took off their glasses to clean them with the hem of their jacket before putting them back on. They had accidently splashed some soda on them while drinking.

"I can't believe that after all this time of knowing each other, Princess, we just found out about this," they stated, grabbing another slice of pizza, a faint smile still on their lips.

All of them nodded in agreement at that, surprised at the story. The girl with the shiny silver hair smiled playfully.

"What? Can't I have a dark past?"

"You are literally made out of sugar, spice and everything nice Lura," Lance said, sitting in front of her, "and extremely strong, like a Powerpuff Girl."

His back was pressed against the couch behind him —because none of them dared to sit on it, scared of leaving a stain of something— and even though she could read how tired he was from his eyes, he still managed to force a half smile for her. She had noticed earlier before, how his eyes were partly closed in a lazy way, and his head thrown back. What all of them had noticed was how quiet he had been all night.

"Hey, Lance, you okay buddy?" asked a concerned Hunk next to him, resting his warm hand on his shoulder, squishing it a little bit tighter.

Lance only nodded several times, while a weary smile still tried to hang on in his lips.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just a little bit sleepy, that's all," he confessed, rubbing a fist on his eye, "but I really want to watch the movie I bought today, so..."

Standing up on his feet, he went to a corner of the room where all of their backpacks were and grabbed his own to pull out the DVD out of it. Of course Shiro had Netflix, but one of the golden rules of their tradition was that every single one of the movies had to be on DVD. That was the way it started, so they had decided that was how it should stay.  He raised it over his head with both of his hands, recreating that scene from the Lion King that everybody knows.

"Oh no," they said simultaneously.

"Oh yes!"

 

* * *

 

_"I wonder what's the matter with him..." Lucy said, slightly furrowing her eyebrows._

 

_The big man in front of her scoffed._

 

_"Looks like a stupid asshole to me."_

 

Everyone  knew and had seen "50 First Dates" already at least one time, it was a classic rom-com. Of course, everyone also knew that Lance simply adored that movie. They had all let a sigh when they saw what movie they had to watch, but that didn't mean nothing at all in reality, since a few minutes later all of them were laughing at the screen. It was just at the beginning but they had an easy smile on their lips already.

Lance was trying hard to not fall asleep. It wasn't because the movie bored him or anything like that, he just couldn't help it.  He had been nodding off the entire time, and the glass of wine he drank only made him even more sleepy.

"You can sleep a little, if you want."

Keith's voice next to him took him by surprise. It was clear that his body was there, but his mind was out of it, simply not on this planet.  Keith hadn't said it loudly, not even in his normal tone of voice, but in a whisper for only him to hear. Lance realized he was just staring without saying a word, so he shook his head to go back to earth.

"Nah, I'm fine, don't worry," he reassured him, shrugging and getting more comfortable against the couch.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw how Keith at his side gave him an skeptical look. He decided to let it be, and focused on the screen.

 

Not even five minutes had passed by when Keith suddenly felt a weight being dropped on his right shoulder. He looked over, surprised and curious, a little bit tense at the sudden contact, but he relaxed in a matter of seconds. The first thing to catch his attention was straight, brown hair that shined slightly under the dim blue light that came from the television. The second thing he noticed, his eyes going down, was the sprinkle of freckles spread over the bridge of Lance's nose and cheekbones. They weren't easy to see only being noticable if someone stared up close like Keith was.

He let out an _"I-told-you-so"_ sigh without saying it out loud. He made a mental note to remind himself to tell him later, but on second thought, he decided not to and save it for himself. Because one of the other noticeable features on Lance's face were his undereye bags, that were the darkest and deepest he had ever seen on him. Lance never had a pimple or a blemish on his face; it was always smooth and weirdly bright. So seeing him like that was strange, and also worrying.

Keith decided to stop watching him, noticing how weird and creepy it could be, and looked up. Instantly, his eyes met Pidge's, who looked at him cautiously, with a tiny sparkle in their eyes that he knew so well. He narrowed his eyes and arched an eyebrow, questioning them. It was as if they were communicating telepathically. The minor answered with a teasing smirk, as if they were trying to say _"I'm not going to tell you what I know,"_ he knew that all too well also. They stared a little longer, challenging each other like they always did, until the laughter of the other three in the room broke it. Both of them looked back to the screen, moving on.

For Keith it didn't last much longer. His attention was completely distracted by a faint buzzing in his ears. His first thought was that maybe it was a mosquito, even though that'd be strange due to autumn starting, but then he saw the pocket of Lance's jacket light up. The screen of his phone shined through the military green clothing, and it wouldn't stop vibrating.

Thinking that it might be something urgent or important, he pumped up and down his shoulder where his head was.

"Lance," he called him, moving his shoulder faster. "Lance?"

Obviously he was deeply asleep- as expected, though, due to how drained he seemed.  Keith was entirely focused on waking him up even if he didn't want to bother him much. He kept trying but nothing worked. The idea of him maybe getting into a fatigue-induced coma crossed his mind for a second, but he brushed it off.

So, still trying not to draw attention from the others, he moved his face to his, leaning down.

"Lance..." he murmured softly, millimeters away from it.

This last time seemed to actually work since his eyelids started to move very slowly while opening. There was this unusual serenity in his ocean blue eyes, darker than usual by lack of light, that wasn't typical on him; generally they screamed excitement and enthusiasm. Just for a few seconds, they simply were calm and gentle.

Until he noticed how close was his face from Keith's, to the point that the extremes of his hair slightly brushed his cheek, and blinked. When he opened up his eyes again, startled, he got up quickly.

Maybe that wasn't his smartest decision, for either of them.

"Ouch! Dammit, McClain!"

Rubbing his now redish and aching forehead, Keith reared back from him. The sound of their foreheads crashing against each other was loud enough for everyone to hear and turn their heads in their direction. The four pair of eyes landed on them, concern all over their faces.

"Oh my God, are you guys alright?"

Allura was the first one to ask, at the same time that Pidge asked what were they doing to hurt each other accidentally like that, but since neither of them answered being immersed into a little fight of who had the fault, they looked at Hunk. He just shrugged implying he didn't know, he also showed them his phone to imply he wasn't paying attention when it happened.

"But why were you that close?!" Lance said from across the room with such a high pitched tone that he was practically screaming, a hand over his forehead.

"I was trying to wake you up!"

"Why? I was sleeping happily!"

"Your phone wouldn't stop buzzing and it bothered me." Keith breathed out, trying to calm himself down. Lance mimicked him huffing out of breath.

At the sight of the discussion, Shiro decided to jump in to try and calm the situation.

"Uh, guys? Do you need ice?"

He knew the answer long before they both silently nodded, their eyes on each other, so Shiro already stood up while asking. He paused the movie and went to the kitchen. Hunk also got up and excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving only four in the room. Allura was trying really hard not to laugh, her hand covering his mouth.

Pidge didn't care at all and a roaring laughter escaped from their mouth.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" they quickly said anyway, while throwing their head backwards to keep laughing, eyes squished shut.

When Shiro got back with two small bags of ice he gave them to the grumpy twenty years old, giving them a look. His eyes lingered longer on Keith, and his friend understood exactly what the older was silently asking him to do. Apparently, based on the accusatory and parental look Shiro was giving him, it was his cue to apologize.

"Uh, Lance, I'm sorry."

Maybe his technique to wake him up was wrong, but he had the best of intentions.

"Thanks, Keith Kat, that sounded so convincing." All the tension between them was resolved when he referred to him by that silly nickname the blue eyed boy had for him. They weren't even mad, it was just the adrenaline of the moment that had lead them to the shouting. Before he could say anything else, the damned phone started buzzing, again.

"Why is it always this damn pho-- oh, I forgot about that already!"  Lance was irritated about the subject already, slipping his thumb through the small screen fast, his eyes darting around it while reading all the text messages he missed.

"Forgot about what?" Hunk asked out of curiosity while entering the room, closing the bathroom door behind him.

The attention was focused on Lance again, and even though sometimes he liked a little bit of attention, he didn't in that exact moment.

"Uh..." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, eyes focused now on the ceiling, wondering if that spider had always been there.

"Lance, we are your friends, you know you can count on us right?" He really loved Shiro, it was impossible not to, but one thing he couldn't stand was his paternal voice since there was no way he could escape from it, specially when he looked at him eyes full of patience and care next to a fond smile. He was sure that Shiro knew the effect that combination had on people, and he wasn't as innocent as he pretended to be about it. The point was that, either if he knew or not, it always worked. The caring was too pure and real.

"Yes, of course I know, it’s just that... it’s kind of...."

"Take your time."

Lance couldn't find the words to explain everything to them, the situation a teenager version of himself had gotten into a few years ago. Not even he could understand completely why he had agreed to such a thing, now that he thought about it. They were his friends, Shiro was right about that, so they wouldn't judge him. Taking a deep breath, he started forming the sentences inside his head.

"So, turns out that when I was in high school..."

"Wait, wait. You graduated from high school?"

"Yes, Pidge."

"I was fully convinced you never graduated kindergarten."

" _So funny, Pidge_ ," he said sarcastically, fighting against the smile that was starting to fight its way on his face. That comment from his friend had helped him to release the tension on his shoulder, and he was thankful for it.

"Anyways, like I was saying, back in high school I was bit of a ladies man...."

"Why doesn't it surprise me?"

"Hunk, you too now?" he whined, pouting.

"Sorry buddy, go on, go on."

While explaining to his friends, his mind went back in time to about five years ago when he had made that mistake thanks to his cockiness and pride. His classmates wouldn't stop bothering him about how every week he was found flirting to another different girl. The first few times he didn't mind, nor care about it at all. It started bothering him however when they started saying there was no way he could have an stable relationship. He had furrowed his eyebrows together back then and asked them why did they think about that.

Back then Lance wouldn't have admitted it, not like during his present life, but he was a hopeless romantic. The kind that stayed until very late at night —behind his mother's back, obviously— with his sister Verónica watching marathons of cliché rom-coms. Those were his ultimate favorite next to space ones. He was the kind that daydreamed about a love like the one he saw on those movies and felt a warmth take over him while thinking of it.  None of his classmates knew about that though, they had no idea. They saw him like "lover boy Lance", and even though he was, it wasn't as cheeky as they thought. Lance knew they had this misperception of him, but he never tried to change it anyway. That's why when they said that he wouldn't have an stable partner in the future when they'd reunite, he just laughed and bet on it.

"You will see me not only with the hottest yet sweetest partner, but you'll also surely see me in a play as well," he had smiled hopeful and confident about proving them wrong.

 

But  back at the present, while he explained the situation to his friend, he realized how naive he had been. Their faces displayed different kinds of reactions, but the one that caught his attention more than the others was the puzzled look Keith was giving him.

"I don't understand," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Why would you do that?"

"Oh, come on, you are the most impulsive person I know of," Lance told him.

"But at least my impulses are rational," Keith fired back, folding his arms over his chest. Shiro gave him a look and he sighed, letting his arms fall to his side again, "Most of them, kind of."

Hunk eyes darted back and forth between them, and when they stopped fighting "like a married couple" — he liked calling them like that to himself—, he spoke up.

"So? What are you going to do?"

The question was left hanging on the air for a moment, a silence fell in the room. It wasn't awkward or comfortable either, it was a thoughtful one. All of them were thinking about a way to solve this problem Lance had to face. Anyways, Lance focused his attention from the question to his friends in the room.

A hearty smile tugging at the corners of his mouth dedicated to them only. It was a thing he used to do, when nobody noticed, he took a second look of them to appreciate those that surrounded him. That was the way he was raised, and that was what he had learned. He didn't have the constant yelling of his siblings all over the house, or the Saturday family lunch his family used to have on the backyard. A long table full of relatives and talking, laughing and shouting that was happiness to him. He didn't have the constant presence of his family anymore, and missed them every day, but in those moments he felt homesick he thought of his friends. The affection he had for them recorded his body through and through and he couldn't help but smile.

"I got it!" Pidge exclaimed, getting the attention of everybody, interested in what they was about to say. "How did we not think about it sooner...? Is so obvious."

They lifted their eyes from the paws of their jacket that covered their hands to find the expectant looks of everyone else.

"Lance, you need a partner..."

"Pidge, we know that alread--"

"... a fake partner. You need somebody that would fake date you, at least. It’s the easiest way to go,"  they finished, ignoring the fact Lance had interrupted them.

He erupted into laughter, his shoulder moving while he did, and letting himself fall backwards to the carpet. His eyes were staring at the ceiling again, still laughing while he thought about it even more. He wasn't by any means laughing at Pidge, but at the idea of someone willingly fake dating him. The idea... wasn't that bad.

"It's a good one," he admitted, throwing his arms behind his head.

"Of course it is," Pidge nodded, pushing their glasses through the bridge of their nose with a clever grin.

"But do you have someone that you could ask?" Shiro wondered.

Suddenly, Lance sat straight and turned around in his direction.

"Don't you know, by any chance, someone my age?"

He was excited by now, his leg energetically shaking was the proof of it. Shiro was about to answer, an answer on the tip of his tongue, stealing a quick glance of someone else in the room when Hunk talked.

"And me?" There wasn't an ounce of hurting in his voice, only pure curiosity to what his best friend was thinking.

"My classmates already know you bud, I'm always posting selfies with you and tagging them with friends hashtags, and the majority of them probably saw them already."  Hunk nodded several times, understanding his point.

His friend with the white stray of hair opened up his mouth to talk again, but Lance turned around again, facing his female friend now.

"Allura?" he wiggled his eyebrows, his hands put together in front of his chest imploring.

She gave him a lopsided smile, polite but mostly apologetic.

"You know I'd love to help you, but I started seeing this girl lately and I don't know if that'd be okay with her..." she explained to him, softly.

Lance gasped, a hand on his heart like it'd hurt him. It was one of his most dramatic expressions, but exaggerated enough for they to know the was overreacting in a funny way.

"Allura, you're breaking my heart," he joked, waiting for them to get the Star Wars reference he much liked, and then smiled- the fake sorrow being erased from his face. "It’s okay, I understand."

She winked at him, partly because she got the reference and encouraging him at the same time.  Lance loved Pidge with every tiny piece of his heart, so when his eyes met the hazel ones of them, he finger gunned getting a smile out of them while rolling their eyes. Finally, his gaze went back to Shiro's.

"Anybody you thought of?"

Shiro was confused to say the least, completely. He couldn't understand how Lance could be that oblivious. He looked at Keith, who seemed to be absently playing on his phone. Lately he had been obsessed with a war and spaceships game, based on an old series of animated cartoons from the '80s. He looked back at Lance again, that was waiting full of hope of hearing an answer. Neither of them, Lance and Keith, got what he was trying to insinuate and he just sighed. Raising his prothstetic hand, he pointed at the one gaming.

"Lance, this is Keith," the last one at the mention of his name looked at them disconcerted and saw how Shiro's hand pointed at Lance. "Keith, this is Lance."

The sudden tension in the air could be easily cut with a piece of paper, everyone's eyes going back and forth, from one to another as if they were watching a tennis match waiting for any of them to answer.

The only thing Keith managed to say was: _"What?"_

Thinking that he might misheard it, he was confused. He saw Lance being weirdly quiet again, and felt as if he suddenly had entered an alternative reality. Or maybe he had fallen asleep and didn't notice. Slowly he moved his left hand to his right forearm and pinched himself. Not too strong, but enough to realize that the situation was actually happening.

"It could work."

Keith blinked twice not being able to believe what he just heard and tilted his head to the side.

"Wait, what?"

The idea was slowly sinking in Lance's head and he started nodding, a hand resting on his chin while he thought about it. Finally he threw up his arms above his head and screamed.

"Eureka!" he gave Keith his most enthusiastic smile "We could make it work, we'd make a good team!"

"I can't believe I hit you hard enough for you to think this would be a good idea", he deadpanned.

Lance rolled his eyes and approached him, crawling till he closed the few steps that separated the both of them. Sitting at his side, he pressed his shoulder against his.

"Keith, buddy, my man, we'll do fine," Lance could feel it, it would go fine and the boy next to him noticed it when he saw how his body relaxed, "with my amazing acting skills and your.. friendship, we'll make it. It'll only be a weekend, _what could possibly go wrong?_ "

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post two first together, and probably next Wednesday or the other one update! Please leave some comments, I'd appreaciate them a lot <3

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to my beta reader, the one that every time makes me feel more confident about what I'm doing Ran (in ao3), my best friend Lu for encouraging me, believing in me and basically being my rock, and Jan, because she is amazing and gets excited for me even when I'm an anxious mess. 
> 
> IMPORTANT: I might take a bit longer to post, because I have to do a huge process of: writing it, editing it, translating it into english, edit it with my beta and then re edit it, and then post it. English isn't my main language, but I'll keep trying my hardest to get better at it <3 Thanks!


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